Nephew of Clarence Thomas Allegedly Beaten, Tased at New Orleans Hospital

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posted at 2:56 pm on July 10, 2010 by Diane Suffern
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Who’s up for another high-profile tasing story?

Derek Thomas, the 24 year old nephew of Justice Clarence Thomas, was admitted to the West Jefferson Medical Center on Thursday. After declining to put on a hospital gown and requesting to leave the ER, Thomas explained, “The guy asked me, you’re either going to do it or we’re going to tase you.” According to a local ABC news affiliate:

Before being tased, Thomas says he was punched in the lip and had a fist full of his hair pulled out. To make matters worse, he is epileptic, and says he suffered a massive seizure as he was being tased. His sister Kimberly says he could’ve died. “This was not only put on his chart letting them know he already had a health condition … this should not have happened at a hospital” Kimberly Thomas comments.

Immediately following the incident, Thomas’ sister called her uncle Clarence who will be arriving in New Orleans to investigate and support his nephew.

Multiple sites report that Thomas was admitted for an attempted suicide. Thomas says he intended no self-harm, but instead took too many prescription pills for an impending migraine. Whatever the case, what latitude does hospital security generally have in subduing a patient if they deny treatment, requesting to leave? What type of behavior would warrant hair pulling, tasing and punching? Hospital surveillance cameras, anyone?

Watch the video for more details.

 

[ricbak]

A little CYA... ?

 

[Midnight]

There's two sides of this that puts the hospital in a bad situation. On one hand, they had a belief that he was a threat to himself, so it would be negligent to allow him to leave the hospital. On the other hand, this guy obviously didn't want to be there.

Where do you draw the line in medical ethics?

 

[CathyInBlue]

If the patient is coherent, not in any immediate risk of dying on your hospital grounds (modulo tasing them to death on the spot), and coordinated enough to put up a struggle in an attempt to walk out of the hospital, then you let them. It does not matter if you know with metaphysical certainty that they're going home to perfect their suicide attempt, you let a person who is in charge of their own faculties dispose of those faculties at their will.

The idea that a hospital administrator has the power to treat a person who has denied them permission to treat him is abhorrent to a free society. The idea that in attempting to treat an epileptic, you have him punched, his hair ripped out, and tased is criminal. If a person is legitimately not in possession of his faculties and in imminent danger of death if not treated, then there are means at a hospital's disposal to secure the patient's person in preparation for treatment. That means is not spelled T.A.S.E.R. Sure, call the security officers to assist in strapping the hallucinatory patient into four-point restraints, but to employ a taser, a weapon meant to be used in lieu of a firearm on a patient in a hospital? Again... criminal.

As a sufferer of migraines myself, I understand the sense of needing more and more medication to combat the migraine symptoms. It's very easy to overdose on migraine meds. It's also largely harmless. They should have made the guy sit long enough to have the AMA release form read to him and then sign it and then let him go on his way. That would have been the ethicly and medicly safe course of action, not calling in the gestapo.

 

[THE DUKE OF ESSEX]

I guess we'll find out about hospital ethics when Uncle Clarence show's up. :biggrin:

 

[Ed Hamberger]

You know, this isn't a story at all! Did Justice Thomas put his Nephew in the position to have a Taser used on him? Was the Justice there? No! and NO!! Look, I have 7 nephews, is it my fault if one lands his butt in trouble? Why don't we concentrate our thoughts and efforts on trying to figure out why Obama won't produce a proper birth certificate, and why his Aunt in NJ recieved special treatment from ICE and the State Department over her illegal immigrant status? :yu:

 

[wolfhunter]

You know, this isn't a story at all! Did Justice Thomas put his Nephew in the position to have a Taser used on him? Was the Justice there? No! and NO!! Look, I have 7 nephews, is it my fault if one lands his butt in trouble? Why don't we concentrate our thoughts and efforts on trying to figure out why Obama won't produce a proper birth certificate, and why his Aunt in NJ recieved special treatment from ICE and the State Department over her illegal immigrant status? :yu:

This isn't about Clarence Thomas. He was only the celeb name that caught a newsie's attention. The focus in this thread has been on the nephew's TREATMENT by hospital staff. Being submitted to this kind of treatment after he refused the hospital's care, is despicable. It violates the concept that an individual can make decisions for themselves. You may see the legal/ethical problem with the hospital's actions when it is your family member being tazed and beaten for rejecting treatment. At the least, the doctor that ordered him restrained should have a letter of reprimand filed with the hospital and AMA, and the guys doing the restraining and tazing should be charged with assault.

 

[Ed Hamberger]

This isn't about Clarence Thomas. He was only the celeb name that caught a newsie's attention. The focus in this thread has been on the nephew's TREATMENT by hospital staff. Being submitted to this kind of treatment after he refused the hospital's care, is despicable. It violates the concept that an individual can make decisions for themselves. You may see the legal/ethical problem with the hospital's actions when it is your family member being tazed and beaten for rejecting treatment. At the least, the doctor that ordered him restrained should have a letter of reprimand filed with the hospital and AMA, and the guys doing the restraining and tazing should be charged with assault.

I stand fast on what I said; Take Clarence Thomas's name out of it and there is no story! There is a reason this "nephew" was in the Hospitals ER in the first place with Cops right there. He had to have done something that being treated would have put his butt in jail. Doctors and Medic's don't go around punching patients unless it's in self-defense. Like I said; take Justice Thomas out the equation, and you have no story! End of story... leasantry:

 

[theicemanmpls]

You know, this isn't a story at all! Did Justice Thomas put his Nephew in the position to have a Taser used on him? Was the Justice there? No! and NO!! Look, I have 7 nephews, is it my fault if one lands his butt in trouble? Why don't we concentrate our thoughts and efforts on trying to figure out why Obama won't produce a proper birth certificate, and why his Aunt in NJ recieved special treatment from ICE and the State Department over her illegal immigrant status? :yu:

I thought this thread was about somebody getting tased.
WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT BARRY OBAMA?fftopic:fftopic:

 

[SC Tiger]

I stand fast on what I said; Take Clarence Thomas's name out of it and there is no story! There is a reason this "nephew" was in the Hospitals ER in the first place with Cops right there. He had to have done something that being treated would have put his butt in jail. Doctors and Medic's don't go around punching patients unless it's in self-defense. Like I said; take Justice Thomas out the equation, and you have no story! End of story... leasantry:

There's almost always a few cops in a Hospital ER, especially in a metropolitan area. Also the OP states that hospital security - of whom at least 25% are typically in or near the ER since that is where the trouble tends to happen, are the ones that tazed him.

The OP also states he was there for attempted suicide, although Mr. Thomas states that he took too many pills to try to cure a migrane.

 

[IWLAFART]

Waiting on the rest of the story. Where is Paul Harvey when you need him. Oh thats right he is dead.leasantry:

 

[FN1910]

Lots of details missing from this story and like someone else said take Clarence Thomas's name out of it and there is no story. The nephew was carried to the hospital as a result of someone saying that he had tried to commit suicide. Who sent him to the ER? Was that person at the ER with him? This seemed to have happend right after he arrived as he was told to put on a gown but tried to leave. It would appear to me that he was being admitted at someone's request and if so was not able to speak for himself at the time. If the police had carried him who called the police.

All in all looks like a lot of details missing and a standard story of someone being admitted against their will by someone looking out for them. You find a friend looking like they have tried to commit suicide and carry them to the hospital you want to be sure before letting them out and of course they are going to say they are fine. I remember my father trying his best to get up and walk out of the hospital so we finally had to strap him in. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do but there wasn't any other way and he recovered. So take Clarence Thomas out of it and you have just another story of a possible crazy suicide paitent trying to get out and finish the job.

 

[Ed Hamberger]

Lots of details missing from this story and like someone else said take Clarence Thomas's name out of it and there is no story. The nephew was carried to the hospital as a result of someone saying that he had tried to commit suicide. Who sent him to the ER? Was that person at the ER with him? This seemed to have happend right after he arrived as he was told to put on a gown but tried to leave. It would appear to me that he was being admitted at someone's request and if so was not able to speak for himself at the time. If the police had carried him who called the police.

All in all looks like a lot of details missing and a standard story of someone being admitted against their will by someone looking out for them. You find a friend looking like they have tried to commit suicide and carry them to the hospital you want to be sure before letting them out and of course they are going to say they are fine. I remember my father trying his best to get up and walk out of the hospital so we finally had to strap him in. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do but there wasn't any other way and he recovered. So take Clarence Thomas out of it and you have just another story of a possible crazy suicide paitent trying to get out and finish the job.

Thank you!
I'm the one who said this was a non-story if the news media had left Justice Thomas's name out of it. leasantry:

 

[father-of-three]

There's a lot of unanswered questions for the physicians and clinicians involved, let alone for the outside folks like us reading bits and pieces of possible truth here.

It could be anything, being rather familiar with "accidential" overdoses and otherwise, in my line of work. It is surprising that a taser was used, but then again, I have a cousin who works in an Arizona hospital who says they have a police dog on their security staff! These are interesting ideas that I will never see in a New Jersey hospital !!!